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Luber Roklin Sues Manager Over Commissions From Ex-Clients

Stephen Crawford is alleged to have interfered with the oral contracts between his clients and their former management company.

A Hollywood management firm has sued one of its former employees for allegedly instructing clients to stop paying commissions when they followed him to a new company.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Luber Roklin Entertainment claims that manager Stephen Crawford was employed by the company from 2007 through 2012, when he left to join rival Industry Entertainment. During his time at Luber Roklin, Crawford represented clients including Jon Herman, Tiffany Paulsen, Adam Minarovich, David DiGilio, Adam Kane and John P. Lavin, according to the lawsuit.

When Crawford switched firms, he allegedly told his clients to stop paying LRE, even though the clients had oral agreements with the management firm to continue paying commissions from jobs they got while represented by the company.

"All amounts owed under the LRE Clients' agreements with LRE were to be paid directly to LRE, not to Crawford or any other individual manager," the lawsuit states. "After Crawford resigned from LRE, most, if not all, of the LRE Clients ceased paying commissions to LRE."

Damages are not specified. THR has reached out to Crawford for comment.

The suit, filed by Jordan Susman of Freedman & Taitelman, alleges causes of action for toritious interference with contractual relations, conversion and accounting.